WTNH: Tell Cox To Pay Us More, Or We'll Withdraw

WTNH-TV, the New Haven-based ABC affiliate, has asked viewers to pressure Cox Communications to pay more for rebroadcasting rights as the two sides struggle to reach an agreement by March 14.

The station is warning viewers who subscribe to Cox cable that it will go dark in a week if an agreement isn't reached by then. Cox has customers in 17 Connecticut towns, including South Windsor, Windsor Locks, Enfield, Granby, East Granby, Manchester, Glastonbury, Wethersfield, Rocky Hill, Newington, Southington and Cheshire.

"Our station is an important asset to the local community. Without a fair agreement, we will not be able to provide the premiere news, sports, entertainment, weather, traffic updates, political coverage and other local and national programming that is most important to you," the station writes on its website. It asks viewers to call Cox and say they don't want to lose News 8 and MyTV9, WCTX.

Dana Alexander Nolfe, a spokeswoman for Cox, declined to say how many calls the company had received, or how many subscribers it has in Connecticut.

For Cox customers who wonder why Cox has to pay for the rights to include WTNH programs, when anyone can watch them for free over the air, WTNH management explains on its website: "For many years, we have been providing viewers with around-the-clock news, political coverage, traffic, weather, public service announcements, as well as popular local and national programming. Despite our superior ratings and service to the community, we are compensated far less than many cable networks.

"The bottom line is Cox profits by including broadcast stations like ours in its line-up. Like any other business, it should pay fair market value for the ability to resell our programming to you," WTNH said.

The station did not tell viewers how much money it wants per household but said, "The rates we are asking for are far less than what Cox pays for major sports networks and comparable to what they pay for some other cable networks that are viewed less than News 8 and MyTV9."

Mark Higgins, general manager of WTNH, declined to talk with The Courant about how much money it is seeking, or how far apart the parties are in negotiations.

Nolfe, of Cox, said WTNH is asking to more than quintuple the amount it is paid per household, but she declined to say what is paid now.

"Programming costs are the largest component of your monthly cable bill and rising at a rate that cannot be sustained," she said. "We are working to balance the value of our offer with the content our customers desire most without obligating everyone to pay for more channels they don't watch."

In its questions-and-answers page on the dispute, WTNH responded to the concern that Cox might raise its rates if it has to pay more for the rights to its programs.

"That is a decision made solely by Cox," WTNH says on its website. "Remember, Cox already charges you to receive our local stations as part of your monthly bill. Cox also charges you for dozens of channels you have probably never seen and others you hardly watch at all. We are simply requesting that Cox pay fair market value for our signals, just as other pay-TV providers do."